January 24th, 2012

The threat of the weak ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ehud Eiran - (Opinion) January 23, 2012 - 1:00am Israel’s traditional threat perception was created in response to strong states. In the 1950s, Israeli operational planning was directed against a potential invasion by all its neighbors. In 1956, Israel launched a pre-emptive war against a rising Egypt, armed with new Soviet weapons. In the 1970s, Israel advanced a massive build-up of its military in order to protect against Syria and Egypt. In the last decade or so Israeli concerns coalesced around Iran’s nuclear program. » Read more

Abbas' disheartening European voyage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) January 23, 2012 - 1:00am During his visit to Berlin and London this week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ mood was identical to the weather in Western Europe. Grey, bleak and depressing. The Germans and the British received Abbas with nearly all the pomp and circumstance due a head of state but even the shower of respect they rained down on him did not succeed in encouraging him. » Read more

A softer touch on the Nakba ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) January 24, 2012 - 1:00am Security and border issues are a familiar safety valve in efforts to break impasses in talks between Israel and the Palestinians. These issues are thought to be relatively solvable compared to the problem of Palestinian refugees and the fate of East Jerusalem. » Read more

Israel's enemy within ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) January 24, 2012 - 1:00am When the Nazi regime set out to create the image of the enemy, it was found in the image of the Jew, the intellectual, the liberal, the socialist, the communist, the modernist, the homosexual, assisted by similar figures among world Jewry, whose women were lustful and who was himself was a traitor to his country who adulterated the race. » Read more

Palestinian leader dismisses presidential rumors ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Ben Birnbaum - (Interview) January 23, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — A top Palestinian leader says he will not run for president, even as the two main Palestinian factions inch toward a unity deal that would allow elections as early as May. Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, dismissed reports that he is considering a presidential bid, particularly if President Mahmoud Abbas makes good on his pledge not to run again. » Read more

"We will negotiate with Hamas if they halt terror" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post January 24, 2012 - 1:00am Israel will negotiate with a Palestinian unity government if Hamas agrees to Quartet conditions and dismantles its terror infrastructure, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in an interview with Israel Radio Tuesday. "The continuation of the peace process is in the interest of Israel, the Palestinians and the world," Barak said. "If Hamas adopts the Quartet's conditions and dismantles its terror infrastructure, we will negotiate with them." » Read more

Israeli embassies on high alert following anthrax scare ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) January 24, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli embassies and consulates have raised their alert level after several in missions in the United States and Europe received envelopes with white powder in them. The missions received white envelopes with the word "anthrax" written on them, according to reports; the powder inside was found to be flour. Among the embassies and consulates that received the envelopes Monday were The Hague, Brussels and London in Europe, and New York, Boston, and Houston in the United States. » Read more

Israel won't interfere with PA police stations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - January 24, 2012 - 1:00am Israel is turning a blind eye to the establishment of two Palestinian Authority police stations on the border of Jerusalem as it considers a series of goodwill gestures to President Mahmoud Abbas. One of the police stations was established recently in the village of a-Ram, which lies northeast of the Jerusalem neighborhood Neveh Ya’acov, just outside the capital’s municipal borders. The second station was established in what is known as the Biddu enclave – a group of eight Palestinian villages located near Ramallah and along Road 443. » Read more

PM, settlers reach compromise on Migron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yair Altman - January 23, 2012 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached a compromise with Migron residents over the removal of the illegal West Bank outpost, a source close to the talks told Ynet on Monday. The agreement would require Migron residents to vacate the outpost and move into buildings that will be constructed nearby. Meanwhile, the outpost's structures will be converted into a farm instead of being razed. The settlers' new homes are to be built approximately two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the outpost, on Israeli land. » Read more

Hamas chief won't visit Gaza soon: official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 23, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior Hamas official on Tuesday denied reports that Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal will visit the Gaza Strip soon. "I do not think the visit will be soon," Khalil Al-Hayya, a Hamas official based in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, told Xinhua. "Mashaal intends to visit Gaza, but the visit is subjected to necessary security and political arrangements." Mashaal, who was born in the West Bank, has never visited Gaza, where Hamas has been holding sway since routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007. Mashaal is currently based in Syria. » Read more